The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for the production of composite filter plugs or mouthpieces which can be united with sections of tobacco-containing rods to form therewith filter tipped cigarettes, cigars or cigarillos. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and means for manipulating rod-like filter elements or components of several types prior to and during draping into a web of cigarette paper, imitation cork or other suitable wrapping material to form a continuous filter rod which is thereupon subdivided into composite filter plugs each of which contains at least a portion of at least one filter element of each of several types of such filter elements.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,953,878 to Schur discloses an apparatus for making composite filter plugs wherein filter elements of several types are shuffled to form a series of groups of assorted coaxial filter elements which move sideways. Successive groups are thereupon moved lengthwise exclusively by mechanical means to form a continuous line of filter elements, and the line is wrapped into a continuous web to form a filter rod. The rod is severed at selected points to yield a file of discrete filter plugs each of which contains one or more filter elements of each type. The means for moving successive groups lengthwise comprises an endless chain having spaced-apart lugs each of which engages and pushes the last filter element of a group so that the group advances toward a wrapping station. A drawback of such apparatus and of such mode of making a continuous line of assorted filter elements is that the speed of the chain conveyor is limited and the output of the apparatus is quite low. This will be readily appreciated since the speed at which a group which moves sideways (at zero axial speed) is caused to change its direction of movement (from sidewise to axial or lengthwise) cannot be increased at will without unduly affecting the appearance and/or damaging the filter element which is engaged by a lug.